Family law

Extensive Family Law experience and expertise, serving as a Judge in the Family Law Division, a Family Law Commissioner, and prior Sole Practitioner with an active and successful Family Law practice
Presided over hundreds Family Law trials and matters concerning child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, marital dissolution, division of property, relocation, and tracing disputes.
Two years as a Child Support Commissioner, presiding over thousands of short cause hearings and hundreds of long cause hearings regarding child support, temporary spousal support, and attorney fee requests.

Division of Extensive Property, Trial on Reserved Issues: An 8 year marriage involving multiple pre and post marriage real properties (separate and community), property exchanges, securities, including vested and unvested stock options and awards, IRAs, deferred compensation accounts, and investment accounts, Watts & Epstein claims, Moore-Marsden issues, tracing disputes, comingling, transmutation claims, and mutual claims of fraud and mis-appropriation. A Judgment on Reserved Issues was issued resolving all claims and a final equalization payment ordered.

Post-Judgment Spousal Support Trial: A 19 year marriage with a stipulated judgment that included an amount for spousal support to wife with a right to “review” the spousal support amount and duration after four years. The review was requested by husband and the primary issue was the income of each party. Husband continued to have an ownership interest in a golf course. Wife was employed with a minimal hourly wage. The challenge was determining husbands’ income. There was no business valuation and the only evidence was the testimony of the co-owner/accountant, with extensive comingling of personal and business expenses. A decision was issued after a multi-day trial and the mutual requests for attorney fees were denied.

Post-Judgment Spousal Support Trial: A 19 year marriage with a stipulated judgment that included a spousal support order to wife for two additional post-judgment years. Six months after the stipulated judgment, wife brought a motion to modify the stipulated spousal support award. The wife continued to be self-employed, and the husband continued his career in law enforcement. A decision was issued on the existence of a change of circumstances, the request to modify the stipulated support, and attorney fees.

Relocation/ Custody & Visitation Trial: A divorced couple with extensive litigation regarding child custody and visitation of their two children. Mother moved and renewed her relocation request and modification of the custody and visitation orders. Mother was pro per and Father was represented. While the trial was pending, Mother filed eight additional motions relating to the children. The couple had parallel child support litigation. The seven day trial included 20 witnesses. A decision was rendered that included an extremely customized, detailed, color coded calendar, parenting schedule and orders.

Dissolution With Spousal Support And Property Division Trial: A 16 year marriage with the only unique issue being Wife’s request for the imputation of wage income to husband, a 61-year-old 100% disabled veteran, who quit his job at the Veterans Administration.

Domestic Violence/Custody & Visitation: A multi-day trial regarding two children, involving evidence of domestic violence, rehabilitation, and Family Code section 3044. A Statement of Decision was issued, addressing the 3044 presumption, along with a parenting plan.